Welcome to "Take Care of It" (opens in new tab). Learn about the care and maintenance required to ensure that your luxury fashion purchases will last forever.

In 2020 and 2021, many of us have the flexibility of work-life balance. Garment care is one of them. Before the pandemic, it was convenient in our lives to bag our sweaters on the way to the office and take them to the cleaners, but somehow that seems more inconvenient now than it used to be. Still, none of us should have to sacrifice wearing luxury items on a regular basis, nor should our wallets (opens in new tab). Getting good at hand-washing special care products is not as difficult as it looks and can save us money in the long run. We asked some of our favorite experts to tell us about their favorite clothing care hacks.

Lindsey Boyd and Gwen Whiting, co-founders of The Laundress (opens in new tab) laundry care product line, advise reading clothing fabric labels and instructions carefully. Up to 90% of items labeled "dry clean" can be washed at home. The same goes for silk (open in new tab), lace, wool, and cashmere (open in new tab)," Boyd says. This method may be better for the garment in the long run. The chemicals used in the dry cleaning process are very irritating to the fabric and often lead to damage"

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Next, it's time to fetch a bath for hand washing. Boyd advises. 'Depending on the composition of the fabric, the water temperature and detergent to be used will depend. For example, everyday laundry like cotton, linen, and strong synthetics can be hand washed in warm water with our signature detergent (opens in a new tab). However, silk, lace delicate synthetics, wool, and cashmere should be washed in cold water with Delicate Wash (opens in new tab) or Wool & Cashmere Shampoo (opens in new tab), respectively."

Araks Yeramyan, designer of the lingerie and swim line Araks (open in new tab), recommends an unconventional technique for small special care items: hand washing bras and panties (open in new tab) in the shower. Yeramyan claims: "It saves time and doesn't create a mountain of hand-washing."

She suggests using whatever soap is in the shower, but her favorites are The Laundress' Wash & Stain Bar (opens in new tab), which she can wash on the go and likes the plastic-free packaging, and the classic Dr. Bronner's Lavender Soap, which is a classic. (Open in new tab)

Whiting explains how to dry things properly: "Don't wring or squeeze clothes to get rid of excess moisture. Do not wring or squeeze clothes to get rid of excess moisture. To speed drying, place the garment on a dry towel in its natural shape and roll the towel up like a sleeping bag to push out excess moisture. Hang or lay flat to test. Be careful not to place the fabric near a sunny window, heater, or other heat source.

Don't get frustrated if things aren't smooth after they dry. Steaming (either on a steamer or hanging under a shower) or using a mild wrinkle remover, such as the plant-based Tom & Sherry's Iron in a Bottle (opens in a new tab), can also help with wrinkles that form after hand washing.

If you feel intimidated by treating stains yourself, Lauren Singer, Zero Waste advocate and CEO of Package Free (opens in new tab), offers some gentle, green solutions for dealing with stains. She says, "White vinegar and basic castile soap will remove essentially any stain. The key with stains is to tackle them head-on and make sure they fade," says Singer. 'For something like a yellow stain under the armpit, white vinegar will do the trick. Just scrub the stain with an old toothbrush with castile soap, soak it in warm water, and then put it in the washer.

"[In the washing machine] I use Simply Co laundry detergent (opens in new tab). Simply Co laundry detergent is a vegan, three ingredient, powdered detergent. I think it's time to experiment with ways to treat stains, especially now that I'm wearing clothes that are objectively of low value, like sweatpants, with clothes that, if they get stained, I wouldn't care too much about."

Another big step is to think about clothing rotation and practical ways to dress. Singer agrees: "I think it's really great to minimize your wardrobe now. There are other ways to minimize what you wash. If you wear a sweater (opens in new tab), you can wear a T-shirt underneath; T-shirts are easy to wash and act as a barrier. By layering, you can minimize the amount of sweat from your other clothes."

Efforts to reduce laundry also apply to underwear. Says Mr. Krause, "Rotate everything that has elastic in it. Elastic needs to be untied. In general, no matter what you do, elastic has a shelf life, but the more you take care of it, the longer it will last," Yeramyan says.

Between wear and tear, Whiting suggests a few simple tips. 'Hanging your clothes out to dry is a simple but effective way to freshen them up. If you don't have an outdoor clothesline, hanging it in an open area outside your closet can be effective. Proper storage between wearings will help. Be sure to fold or hang them to avoid wrinkles."

That's right. Not only will you pay far less for dry cleaning, but you may find it less difficult to sort out stains yourself. Singer doesn't consider learning to care for clothes a small step: "Yes, we're indoors, but we also have access to all the information recorded by humans. So it's great to have access to any skill set if you have the desire and will to learn. Hopefully we can get some of these things and if in the future we can be as self-sufficient as we are now, maybe the world will start to shift for the better."